About TEMA

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and the state emergency management program were nationally accredited on November 17, 2007.

The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is an independent corporation that evaluates state and local emergency management programs. EMAP is supported by the National Emergency Managers' Association (NEMA) headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

There are 63 standards in the 2010 book, "EMAP Standards." Accreditation rules state that no standard may be failed.

Tennessee was one of only 13 states that were nationally accredited in 2007; and in 2010 Tennessee is one of 26 states that are accredited.

The process to become accredited took two and a half years. The state must report changes and validate that it meets all EMAP standards each year. An EMAP team will return to the state in 2012 for external reassessment.